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[  Whole  Number  184 

U.  S.  BUREAU  OF  EDUCATION. 


REPORT 


OF  THE 


N 


FOR 


THE  YEAR  1888-89. 


REPRINTED  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER 
OF  EDUCATION  FOR  1888-89. 


T' 


SHELT) ON  JACKSON, 


GENERAL  AGENT. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE. 

1891. 


[  Whole  Number  184 


U.  S.  BUREAU  OF  EDUCATION. 


REPORT 


OF  THE 


GENERAL  AGENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ALASKA 


FOR 


THE  YEAR  1888-89. 


REPRINTED  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER 
OF  EDUCATION  FOR  1888-89. 


SHELDON  JACKSON, 

GENERAL  AGENT. 


WASHINGTON : 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE. 

1891. 


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CHAPTER  XXIV. 


REPORT  OP  THE  GENERAL  AGENT  OP  EDUCATION  FOR 
ALASKA  TO  THE  TERRITORIAL  BOARD. 


LETTER  TRANSMITTING  THE  REPORT  OF  THE  GENERAL  AGENT  TO  THE  COMMISSIONER 

OF  EDUCATION. 


Territorial  Board  of  Education, 

Silica,  Alaska ,  December  16,  1889. 

Sir:  The  Territorial  board  of  education  in  Alaska  has  the  honor  of  transmitting  to 
you  the  annual  report  for  1888-89  of  the  general  agent  of  education  in  Alaska,  with  the 
following  recommendations:  * 

First.  That  the  Territorial  board  be  authorized  to  appoint  at  their  discretion  local 
school  committees,  and  that  the  present  methods  be  so  changed  that  the  local  and  inci¬ 
dental  expenses  of  the  schools  can  be  audited  by  the  local  committees,  and  that  salary 
vouchers  can  be  paid  upon  the  certification  of  the  general  agent,  or,  in  his  absence,  of 
the  district  superintendent,  that  the  service  has  been  rendered  according  to  the  agree¬ 
ment. 

Second.  That  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  be  recommended  to  con¬ 
tract  with  some  missionary  society  for  the  establishment  of  a  boarding  school  at  Point 
Hope.  Alaska. 

Third.  The  Territorial  board  of  education,  at  their  session  August  30,  1889,  having 
recommended  the  appointment  of  a  district  superintendent  for  the  Sitka  district,  do 
hereby  recommend  to  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  as  a  suitable  per¬ 
son  for  that  position  the  name  of  the  Hon.  James  Sheakley,  United  States  commissioner 
at  Fort  Wrangell,  and  a  member  of  this  board.  And  the  board  further  recommends 
that  liis  salary  be  $400  per  annum,  together  with  necessary  traveling  expenses. 

Fourth.  The  Territorial  board  of  education,  considering  it  important  that  the  general 
agent  should  visit  San  Francisco  and  Washington  for  the  furtherance  of  Alaska  educa¬ 
tional  and  other  interests,  do  hereby  request  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Edu¬ 
cation  that  his  necessary  traveling  expenses  be  allowed. 

Fifth.  That  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  be  recommended  to  contract 
with  the  Moravians  for  the  establishment  of  a  school  at  Togiak,  Alaska. 

Sixth.  That  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  be  recommended  to  estab¬ 
lish  schools  and  erect  school  buildings  at  Belkofsky,  Yakutat,  Prince  William  Sound, 
and  some  point  on  Cook’s  Inlet,  to  be  hereafter  selected. 

By  order  of  the  board. 

Lyman  E.  Knapp, 

President. 


s 

Hon.  W.  T.  Harris, 

United  States  Commissioner  of  Education . 


Sheldon  Jackson, 

Secretary. 


753 


754 


EDUCATION  REPORT,  1888-89. 


RETORT. 

Department  of  the  Interior,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education, 

Office  of  General  Agent  of  Education, 

Sitka ,  Alaska,  June  30,  1889. 

To  the  Territorial  Board  of  Education: 

Sirs:  I  have  the  honor  of  submitting  the  following  report  of  the  schools  of  Alaska 
for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1889: 

There  are  in  the  district  of  Alaska  fourteen  day  schools  supported  wholly  bv  the 
Government,  four  boarding  schools  aided  by  the  Government,  and  a  number  of  mission 
schools  carried  on  by  different  religious  organizations. 

From  one  of  the  public  schools  (Unga)  no  report  has  been  received.  The  other 
thirteen  report  a  total  enrollment  of  1,040  pupils. 

From  two  of  the  contract  schools  no  reports  have  been  received.  The  other  two  re¬ 
port  a  total  enrollment  of  195. 

No  reports  have  been  received  from  the  mission  schools. 

It  is  estimated  that  there  are  1,500  children  in  the  schools  of  Alaska.  The  total  pop¬ 
ulation  under  twenty-one  years  of  age  is  estimated  at  12,000. 

GOVERNMENT  DAY  SCHOOLS. 

In  the  Unalaska  district  there  is  but  one  public  school,  that  of  Unga. 

This  promising  school  has  been  without  a  teacher  lor  the  past  year. 

On  the  26th  of  May,  1888,  Mr.  VV.  A.  Baker,  of  New  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  was  appointed 
teacher  at  Unga.  Ou  the  30th  of  June,  1888,  Mr.  Baker  having  declined  to  accept,  Mr. 
John  A.  Tuck,  of  Middleton,  Conn.,  was  appointed  tn  his  place.  By  the  time  Pro¬ 
fessor  Tuck  received  notice  of  his  appointment  it  was  too  late  to  reach  San  Francisco 
in  time  to  take  the  last  boat  of  the  season  for  Unga. 

Kodiak  district. 

In  the  Kodiak  district  are  situated  the  two  schools  of  Kodiak  and  Afognak. 

Kodiak. — W.  E.  Roscoe,  teacher.  Total  enrollment,  sixty-eight.  The  average  at¬ 
tendance  is  much  larger  than  the  preceding  year  and  with  the  more  regular  attendance 
has  come  an  increased  interest  in  their  studies  oa  the  part  of  the  pupils. 

The  school  is  graded  in  accordance  with  the  California  system. 

Professor  Roscoe  has  availed  himself  of  the  preference  of  the  children  for  the  study 
of  geography  to  combine  with  it  lessons  in  language,  writing,  and  spelling. 

Frequent  talks  are  had  concerning  different  countries,  their  natural  phenomena,  prod¬ 
ucts,  people,  customs,  etc. 

Sentence  building  is  carefully  taught  from  the  first  to  the  fourth  reader,  and  the  im¬ 
provement  in  language  is  very  rapid. 

Object  and  picture  lessons  are  in  daily  use.  Spelling  down  and  recitations  are  occa¬ 
sional  amusements. 

This  school,  like  all  the  others,  greatly  needs  a  set  of  good  wall  maps. 

It  also  needs  a  suitable  school  building,  the  erection  of  which  has  been  recommended 
by  the  Territorial  board  of  education. 

Afognak.  — James  A .  Wirth,  teacher.  This  school  has  doubled,  and  during  some  months 
trebled  the  average  attendance  of  the  corresponding  months  of  last  year. 

The  total  enrollment  has  increased  from  twenty-four  to  fifty-five.  If  the  schoolroom 
had  been  larger  and  more  comfortable  there  would  have  been  a  much  larger  increase. 

Some  of  the  boys  have  made  such  progress  that  they  can  carry  on  any  ordinary  con¬ 
versation  in  English.  This  obviates  the  further  use  of  the  Russian  and  Aleut  languages 
by  the  teacher. 

The  great  drawback  to  the  school  has  been  the  want  of  a  comfortable  room  for  school 
purposes.  During  the  coming  year  I  trust  this  difficulty  may  be  obviated,  as  steps  are 
being  taken  for  the  erection  of  a  school  building. 

We  greatly  regret  to  announce  that,  owing  to  the  state  of  his  wife’s  health.  Professor 
Wirth  has  felt  compelled  to  tender  his  resignation. 

By  his  ability  as  a  teacher,  his  knowledge  of  the  languages  of  the  people,  his  tact  and 
patience,  he  has  overcome  many  of  the  difficulties  incident  to  the  establishment  of  a 
school  in  a  region  so  remote  that  it  has  but  two  or  three  chance  mails  during  the  year, 
and  among  a  people  who  have  not  yet  learned  to  appreciate  the  advantages  of  an  educa¬ 
tion.  With  absolutely  no  help  from  the  parents,  he  has  created  such  an  interest  among 
the  pupils  that  they  have  attended  school  from  the  love  of  it. 


EDUCATION  IN  ALASKA. 


755 


Sitka  district. 

Haines. — F.  F.  White,  teacher.  Total  enrollment,  128.  An  unusual  number  of  heathen 
feasts  during  the  winter  greatly  interfered  with  the  regularity  of  the  attendance. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  which  has 
good  buildings  at  Haines,  will  send  a  missionary  there  at  an  early  date.  A  Government 
teacher  and  a  missionary  working  together  in  the  large  Chilkat  tribe  would  be  of  great 
assistance  to  one  another.  The  Presbyterian  Board  of  Home  Missions  has  given  the  Gov¬ 
ernment  the  free  use  of  their  school  building. 

Juneau  No.  1. — Miss  Rhoda  A.  Lee,  teacher.  The  present  has  been  the  most  success¬ 
ful  year  in  the  history  of  the  school.  The  total  .enrollment  increased  from  twenty-five 
to  thirty-six,  and  the  average  attendance  from  nineteen  to  twenty-three. 

Juneau  No.  2. — Miss  Alice  R.  Hill,  teacher.  The  total  enrollment  of  the  school  de¬ 
creased  from  sixty-seven  last  year  to  fifty-eight  this.  The  average  attendance,  however, 
increased  from  twenty-seven  to  thirty-thre.  The  pupils  that  were  the  most  regular 
in  their  attendance  and  made  the  greatest  advancement  in  their  studies  were  those  con¬ 
nected  with  the  excellent  mission  home  conducted  by  Rev.  E.  S.  Willard  and  helpers. 
Juneau  will  soon  need  an  additional  building. 

Douglass  City. — Mrs.  Anna  Moore,  teacher.  The  enrollment  numbers  ninety-four  as 
against  sixty-seven  for  1887-88. 

The  progress  of  the  school  has  been  more  or  less  hindered  by  race  prejudices. 

As  by  far  the  largest  attendance  was  by  native  children,  the  whites  petitioned  for  a 
separate  school  for  their  own  children.  As  the  appropriation  was  too  small  and  the 
number  of  white  children  too  few  to  justify  the  expense  of  an  additional  teacher,  an 
arrangement  was  effected  and  instructions  issued  for  the  white  children  to  attend  school 
in  the  forenoon  and  the  native  children  in  the  afternoon,  thus  having  two  separate  schools 
with  but  one  teacher. 

This  did  not  prove  a  very  great  success  (the  average  attendance  of  white  children 
being  six  and  a  fraction),  and  the  Territorial  board  of  education  has  recommended  for 
the  coming  year  two  teachers. 

During  the  summer  of  1888  the  Society  of  Friends  erected  a  good  school  building,  the 
use  of  which  has  been  kindly  furnished  the  Government  without  cost. 

Killisnoo. — Miss  May  Ransom,  teacher.  This  school  has  moved  along  quietly  during 
the  year.  Owing  to  the  financial  difficulties  ol  the  Fish  Oil  Works  fewer  families  have 
remained  in  the  place,  and  the  consequent  attendance  at  school  has  decreased. 

Sitka  No.  1. — Miss  Mary  Desha,  Mr.  Andrew  Kashevarof,  and  Miss  Cassia  Patton, 
teachers.  Miss  Desha  taught  from  September  to  January,  when,  receiving  an  appoint¬ 
ment  in  the  Pension  Office,  she  resigned  and  removed  to  Washington. 

Miss  Cassia  Patton,  of  Cochranton,  Pa.,  was  appointed  to  succeed  her.  Mr.  Andrew 
Kashevarof  was  employed  from  the  middle  of  January  until  Miss  Patton’s  arrival,  the 
middle  of  February.  Total  enrollment  for  the  year,  sixty -seven.  The  success  of  the 
school  during  the  year  has  been  most  gratifying  to  the  parents  of  the  pupils  and  to  the 
friends  of  education  generally. 

Sitka  No.  2. — Miss  Virginia  Pakle,  teacher.  Total  enrollment,  fifty-one.  With  an 
obligatory-attendance  law  properly  enforced  the  enrollment  ought  to  be  100  or  more. 

During  the  year  a  plain  but  substantial  and  pleasant  school  building  has  been  erected 
at  an  expense  of  $1,400. 

Wrangel. — Miss  Lyda  McAvoy  Thomas,  teacher.  Total  enrollment,  ninety.  This 
model  school  continues  to  improve  year  by  year. 

Klawack. — Rev.  L.  W.  Currie  and  Mrs.  M.  V.  Currie,  teachers, 

The  school  year  opened  with  sorrow  in  the  death  of  Mr.  Currie,  who  was  the  first  and 
only  teacher  the  school  had  ever  had. 

Mr.  Currie  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  a  graduate  of  Hampden-Sidney  College 
and  Union  Theological  Seminary,  Virginia.  He  gave  his  life  to  Indian  education. 

He  did  valuable  work  as  teacher  among  the  Choctaw  Indians,  and  when  a  call  came 
for  some  one  to  go  to  a  remnant  of  Indiaus  in  Southeastern  Texas  that  were  in  danger 
of  extinction  he  went  to  them.  While  there  his  schoolhouse  was  burned  and  his  lile 
threatened.  To  escape  the  malaria  incident  to  a  long  continued  residence  in  that  sec- 
tiorbhe  came  to  Alaska  and  took  charge  of  the  newly  opened  school  at  Klawack  under 
circumstances  of  great  heroism.  Far  away  from  any  officer  of  the  law  he  battled  alone 
against  intemperance  and  witchcraft.  Upon  one  occasion  four  men  attempted  to  carry 
away  one  of  his  pupiis  (a  girl)  on  the  charge  of  witchcraft.  Mr.  Currie  rescued  her, 
keeping  her  at  his  house.  A  few  days  afterwards  they  returned,  reenforced  by  a  party 
of  Hvdahs,  on  another  attempt  to  get  possession  of  her.  While  some  of  them  vehe¬ 
mently  claimed  her,  others  stood  near  the  missionary  with  open  knives.  Finally  the 
brother  of  the  girl  was  intimidated  into  paying  a  ransom  for  her.  This  Mr.  Currie 
could  not  prevent,  but  the  girl  at  least  was  saved. 


756 


EDUCATION  REPOET,  1888-89. 


Mrs.  Currie,  being  herself  a  teacher  of  long  experience,  was  appointed  to  her  hus¬ 
band’s  place.  Her  isolation  from  all  companionship  (she  was  the  only  white  woman  in 
the  place,  and  for  eleven  months  looked  into  the  faces  of  but  two  white  women),  the 
absence  of  any  officer  to  enforce  law  or  look  alter  the  peace  of  the  community,  t  he  preva¬ 
lence  of  drunkenness,  witchcraft,  and  other  heathen  practices,  greatly  interfered  with 
the  efficiency  of  the  school.  This  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  places  to  conduct  a  school 
in  all  Southeastern  Alaska,  and  needs  a  strong,  self-reliant,  energetic  man  for  teacher. 
Such  a  one  the  board  of  education  hope  to  secure. 

Mrs.  Currie,  with  true  Christian  heroism,  unflinchingly  remained  at  her  post  until 
the  close  of  the  school  year,  when  she  resigned  to  return  to  her  friends  in  the  east. 

Howkan. — Miss  Clara  A.  Gould,  teacher.  This  excellent  school,  with  an  enrollment 
of  105,  continues  to  maintain  its  reputation  for  efficiency. 

Metlakahtt ’t. — Teachers,  William  Duncan,  with  a  corps  of  native  assistants.  Total  en¬ 
rollment,  172.  This  coming  year  Mr.  Duncan  confidently  expects  to  have  a  boarding 
school  for  boys  and  another  for  girls  under  way. 

SCHOOLHOUSES. 

During  the  year  a  school  building  was  erected  for  the  use  of  Sitka  School  No.  2. 
Buildings  have  also  been  voted  lor  Douglas  City,  Kodiak,  Afognak,  and  Karluk. 

CONTKACT  SCHOOLS. 

AnviJc ,  on  the  Yukon  River,  580  miles  from  St.  Michael.  A  mission  station  and  school 
supported  by  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  Teachers, 
Rev.  Octavius  Parker  and  Rev.  John  W.  Chapman. 

The  school  being  3,844  miles  from  San  Francisco,  its  post-office,  and  receiving  but  one 
mail  a  year,  our  latest  report  is  dated  June  1,  1888,  and  the  statistics  embodied  in  this 
report  are  those  for  1887-88. 

School  opened  August  1,  1887,  with  an  average  daily  attendance  of  eight.  Two  boys 
have  had  sixty  lessons  in  the  first  reader.  Four  or  five  other  boys  have  broken  the  back 
of  reading,  and  there  is  an  army  of  stragglers  who  come  in  more  or  less  frequently,  and 
out  of  whom  perhaps  half  a  dozen  could  be  drawn,  boys  and  girls,  who  have  a  genuine 
and  growing  interest  in  the  work  of  the  school,  and  whose  attendance  is  growing  more 
regular.  Several  boys  are  writing  in  a  fair,  legible  hand,  and  three  can  now  write  out 
their  reading  lessons  in  script  without  referring  to  a  script  alphabet.  Two,  the  most  ad¬ 
vanced,  aged  about  eleven  years,  can  write  from  dictation  several  of  the  first  lessons 
with  perfect  accuracy,  and  can  now  understand  the  meaning  of  the  greater  part  of  what 
they  read,  and  are  talking  English  a  little.  They  have  been  taught  to  analyze  words 
phonetically,  and  when  the  teacher  wants  native  words  he  can  get  them  pronounced  in 
a  scientific  manner. 

The  total  enrollment  of  pupils  was  fifty.  A  steam  saw-mill  is  now  en  route  for  the 
mission  and  will  be  the  first  of  the  industries  established  in  connection  with  the  school. 

Bethel ,  on  the  Kuskokwim  River,  150  miles  from  its  mouth.  Teachers,  Rev.  John 
H.  Killbuck  and  wife  and  Rev.  E.  Weber.  This  season  Mrs.  Sarah  Bachman  and  Miss 
Carrie  Detterer  have  been  sent  out  to  the  same  station.  Mrs.  Bachman  is  the  wife  of 
one  of  the  bishops  of  the  Moravian  Church  and  goes  out  to  spend  a  year  in  the  work. 

Bethel  is  3,029  miles  from  San  Francisco,  its  post  office,  and  has  but  one  mail  a  year. 

The  latest  statistics  received  are  those  for  1887-88  and  September,  1888.  Total  en¬ 
rollment  for  1887-88,  seventeen.  Largest  monthly  average,  fifteen.  Enrollment  for 
September,  1888,  nineteen  boarding  pupils. 

This  school  is  under  the  care  of  the  Moravian  Church  of  the  United  States. 

The  teachers  experience  a  threefold  difficulty  in  teaching  English.  First,  their  own 
limited  knowledge  of  the  native  tongue,  making  it  difficult  to  convey  their  meaning  to 
the  children;  second,  the  absence  of  English-speaking  people  in  that  section;  and  third, 
the  native  disinclination  to  speak  a  foreign  tongue. 

However,  the  teachers  are  encouraged  at  the  perceptible  improvement  of  their  pupils 
over  last  year. 

Carmel ,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nusliagak  River.  This  school  is  also  under  the  care  of 
the  Moravian  Church. 

Teachers,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  F.  E.  Wolff  and  Miss  Mary  Huber.  To  these  has  recently 
been  added  the  Rev.  John  Herman  Schoechert,  of  Watertown,  Wis. 

Although  Carmel  is  2,902  miles  from  San  Francisco,  its  post-office,  the  location  of 
several  salmon  canneries  in  the  neighborhood,  with  the  consequent  arrival  and  departure 
of  schooners  carrying  supplies,  gives  it  several  mails  during  the  summer.  Hence  the 
school  statistics  of  the  present  year  have  been  received.  Total  enrollment  twenty-five. 


EDUCATION  IN  ALASKA. 


757 


School  opened  on  the  27th  of  August,  1888,  with  an  increased  attendance  over  last' 
year.  In  order  to  give  the  children  from  Nushagak,  Togiak,  and  other  neighboring  vil¬ 
lages  an  opportunity  of  attending  school  a  large  barabara  has  been  built.  (This  is  a 
native  sod  house  partly  underground.)  In  this  house  the  children  from  a  distance  are 
lodged  and  fed.  They  are  allowed  to  go  home  each  Friday  night,  returning  to  school 
on  the  following  Monday  morning. 

Sitka  Industrial  Training  School. — IJnder  the  care  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  Teachers  and  employes,  Prof.  Wm.  A.  Kelly,  superintendent; 
Rev.  Alonzo  E.  Austin,  chaplain;  Mr.  H.  H.  Lake,  boot  and  shoe  shop,  also  teacher  of 
cornet  band; - ,  carpenter  shop;  Donald  Austin  (native),  assistant  carpen¬ 

ter;  R.  E.  Henning,  M.  D.,  physician;  Miss  Anna  R.  Helsey,  matron  of  the  girls;  Mrs. 
A.  E.  Austin,  matron  of  the  boys;  Mrs.  J.  G.  Overenct,  matron  of  the  hospital;  Miss 
Kate  Rankin,  kitchen,  dining  room,  and  bakery;  Miss  Grace  Ashby,  teachers’  messen¬ 
ger;  Mrs.  S.  S.  Winans,  sewing  room;  Mrs.  Tillie  Paul  (native),  assistant  in  sewing 

room;  -  - ,  steam  laundry;  Miss  Ida  M.  Rogers,  schoolroom;  Miss  Carrie 

Delph,  schoolroom;  William  Wells  (native),  interpreter;  Kate,  Jennie,  Lottie,  Ruth 
Albany,  native  assistants;  Josephine,  Russian  interpreter.  During  the  year  the  school 
enrolled  170  pupils,  of  whom  64  were  girls  and  106  boys. 

Of  the  boys  17  received  instruction  and  practice  in  the  shoe  shop,  20  in  the  carpenter 
shop,  4  in  the  blacksmith  shop,  6  in  the  bakery,  and  several  in  the  steam  laundry. 

From  25  to  30  boys  have  had  instruction  and  practice  in  the  cornet  band.  Two  boys 
have  been  sent  east  to  Captain  Pratt’s  Indian  School  at  Carlisle,  Pa.,  one  to  learn  the 
printers’  trade  and  the  other  tinsmithing,  and  4  of  the  girls  of  the  school  have  been 
sent  to  Northfield,  Mass.,  to  be  trained  as  teachers.  The  girls  are  at  the  expense  of  Mrs. 
Elliott  F.  Shepard,  of  New  York  City. 

The  boys  in  the  shoeshop  have  made  117  pairs  of  boys’  nailed  shoes,  93  pairs  of  sewed 
shoes,  27  pairs  of  girls’  sewed  sho^s,  9  pairs  of  fine  sewed  shoes  for  teachers  and  others; 
they  also  have  half-soled  718  pairs  of  shoes,  and  put  on  327  heels  and  515  patches. 

The  carpenter  boys  have  erected  4  houses,  besides  repairing  buildings  and  furniture. 

The  boys  in  the  steam  laundry  have  averaged  1,000  pieces  of  clothing  a  week,  and 
the  boys  in  the  bakery  have  made  into  good  bread  900  pounds  of  flour  per  week 

Three  of  the  boys  during  the  winter  netted  a  large  fishing  seine,  and  one  has  done  some 
good  coopering. 

Arrangements  are  under  way  for  the  establishment  of  a  steam  sawmill  and  planer  as 
one  of  the  regular  industries  of  the  school. 

Last  summer  visitors  presented  the  school  with  21  brass  instruments,  and  a  band  was 
organized  among  the  pupils. 

The  North  Star,  a  small  illustrated  monthly  paper,  has  been  regularly  published  in 
connection  with  the  school. 

Recently,  in  the  absence  of  any  Government  reformatory,  the  United  States  district 
court  of  Alaska,  Judge  Keatly  presiding,  placed  a  boy  and  girl  in  the  school. 

Extensive  improvements  have  been  made  this  summer  by  the  boys  on  the  grounds  of 
the  institution. 

The  mission  board  and  their  employes,  in  connection  with  the  school,  are  sparing  no 
pains  or  labor  to  increase  the  efficiency  and  usefulness  of  the  institution,  and  are  encour¬ 
aged  by  a  manifest  advance  from  year  to  year.  * 

The  school  is  not  only  molding  and  lifting  up  the  pupils  directly  under  its  care,  but 
also  their  parents  and  friends. 

It  is  also  forming  a  public  sentiment  which  indirectly  helps  every  school  in  the  Ter¬ 
ritory.  During  June,  July,  and  August,  when  the  steamers  come  crowded  with  tourists, 
all  the  other  schools  are  closed  for  vacation,  and  until  the  visitors  reach  Sitka  they  see 
the  native  children  only  in  their  dirt  and  filth,  so  that  the  impressson  is  formed  that 
nothing  can  be  done  with  them. 

To  correct  this  unfavorable  judgment  and  demonstrate  that  the  natives  are  capable  of 
civilization  and  education,  the  superintendent  of  the  school,  upon  the  arrival  of  each 
steamer,  sends  the  tourists  an  invitation  to  visit  the  institution.  The  pupils  are  called 
together  for  recitations,  singing,  and  other  exercises.  The  strangers  are  shown  over  the 
buildings  and  taken  into  the  workrooms,  etc.  The  result  is  that  these  visitors  from 
every  section  of  the  land  carry  to  their  homes  and  tell  to  their  friends  what  their  eyes 
have  seen  of  the  progress  of  Alaskan  children  in  the  schools. 

These  testimonies  create  a  favorable  and  growing  public  sentiment,  that  finds  expres¬ 
sion  in  the  annual  Congressional  appropriation  for  education  in  Alaska. 

OTHER  SCHOOLS. 

The  Alaska  Commercial  Company ,  in  accordance  with  its  lease  of  the  seal  islands, 
maintains  schools  upon  the  islands  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  George.  As  their  report  is  made 
directly  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  no  statistics  are  received  at  this  office. 


758 


EDUCATION  REPORT,  1888-89. 


The  Russian  Government,  through  the  medium  of  the  Russo-GreeJc  Church,  is  reported 
as  having  seventeen  parochial  schools.  These  have  largely  been  taught  in  the  Russian 
language.  It  is  said  that  their  bishop  has  issued  instructions  to  all  the  priests  and 
teachers  to  use  the  English  language.  While  for  the  first  few  years  the  teaching  in 
English  by  teachers  themselves  learning  the  language  will  not  be  very  efficient,  it  yet 
marks  a  step  forward,  and  gives  the  promise  of  better  things  in  the  future. 

In  the  annual  report  of  the  governor  for  1888  it  is  stated  that  the  Greek  churches  and 
parochial  schools  in  Alaska  cost  the  Russian  Government  $00,000  annually. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church ,  with  headquarters  and  bishop’s  residence  at  Victoria, 
British  Columbia,  have  a  school  at  Juneau,  and  claim  two  in  process  of  establishment 
upon  the  Yukon  River,  one  at  Kozyrof,  near  Leatherville;  and  the  other  between  Auvik 
and  Nulato,  and  one  at  St.  Michael,  on  Bering  Sea.  These  are  in  charge  of  Jesuit 
priests. 

The  Church  of  England  is  reported  to  have  a  school  at  Nuklukahyet,  on  the  Yukon 
River. 

The  FreeMission  Society  of  Sweden  has  schools  at  Unalaklik,  on  Bering  Sea,  and  Yakutat, 
at  the  base  of  Mount  St.  Elias.  Owing  to  the  inaccessibleness  of  these  schools  and  the 
absence  of  mail  communications  but  little  is  known  concerning  them. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States,  through  its  Board  of  Home  Missions,  has  a 
flourishing  day  school,  with  a  total  enrollment  of  155  pupils  at,  Hoonah. 

This  school  is  taught  by  Rev.  and  Mrs.  John  W.  McFarland.  It  has  also  an  excel¬ 
lent  “home,”  with  twenty-five  boys  and  girls,  at  Juneau,  under  the  admirable  manage¬ 
ment  of  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Eugene  S.  Willard,  assisted  by  Miss  Bessie  Matthews  and  Miss 
Jennie  Dunbar.  This  school  is  a  feeder  for  the  Industrial  Training  School  at  Sitka. 

It  has  a  second  “home  ”  at  Howkan,  with  about  twenty-five  girls,  in  charge  of  Mrs. 
A.  R.  McFarland,  so  well  and  favorably  known  in  the  Church.  At  both  of  these 
“homes”  the  children  are  fed,  clothed,  cared  for,  and  trained  in  household  duties. 
For  their  literary  training  the  children  attend  the  Government  day  schools. 

ADDITIONAL  RULES  ISSUED  BY  U.  S.  BUREAU  OF  EDUCATION. 

August  15,  1888. — The  governor  of  the  Territory,  the  judge  of  the  United  States  court, 
and  the  general  agent  of  education  in  Alaska  for  the  time  being,  with  two  other  per¬ 
sons,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Secretary  upon  the  nomination  of  the  Commissioner  of  Ed¬ 
ucation,  shall  constitute  the  board  of  education  and  the  general  agent  of  education  shall 
be  the  secretary  of  said  board,  and  shall  keep  the  record  of  its  proceedings.  Three  mem¬ 
bers  shall  constitute  a  quorum  of  said  board. 

August  i5,  1888. — All  missionary,  boarding,  or  other  schools  conducted  by  private 
persons,  or  under  the  supervision  of  any  of  the  Christian  Churches,  which  shall  receive 
aid  and  assistance  from  the  Government,  shall  be  subject  to  the  visitation  and  inspec¬ 
tion  of  the  board  of  education,  who  shall  have  power  to  see  that  proper  discipline  is 
maintained  and  instruction  given,  and  wholesome  food  and  proper  clothing  and  com¬ 
fortable  lodging  furnished  to  the  inmates  of  such  schools. 

August  15,  1888. — The  board  of  education  shall  have  power,  and  it  shall  be  its  duty, 
to  prescribe  courses  of  study  for  the  several  schools  under  its  jurisdiction,  and  particu¬ 
larly  to  prescribe  what  shall  be  the  extent  and  character  of  the  industrial  instruction 
to  be  given  in  any  or  all  of  said  schools,  and  the  teachers  of  said  schools  shall  coniform 
as  nearly  as  practicable  to  the  courses  of  study  prescribed  by  the  board.  This  rule  shall 
include  such  schools  as  receive  aid  from  the  Government. 

August  15,  1888. — Corporal  punishment  shall  not  be  excessive,  and  shall  be  inflicted 
upon  the  pupils  in  attendance  upon  the  public  and  other  schools  only  in  extreme  cases, 
and  then  in  moderation.  Any  teacher  who  shall  violate  this  rule  shall  be  subject  to  re¬ 
moval  and  loss  of  pay.  The  board  of  education  will  enforce  this  rule  rigidly,  and  report 
all  violations  to  the  Commissioner  of  Education. 

August  15,  1888. — Any  action  taken  by  the  Territorial  board  of  education  under  the 
preceding  rules  shall  be  subject  to  revision  and  approval  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education. 

July  12,  1889. — The  term  of  the  Government  schools  in  the  District  of  Alaska  shall 
begin  on  the  first  school  day  in  September  and  continue  for  the  period  of  nine  calendar 
months,  ending  on  the  last  school  day  in  May  in  each  and  every  year,  except  when 
special  provision  is  otherwise  made. 

July  12,  1889. — All  schools  supported  by  the  Government  shall  be  kept  open  each 
and  every  day  during  said  period,  except  Saturday,  Sunday,  and  the  national  holidays, 
which  are  Thanksgiving,  Christmas,  New  Years,  22d  February,  and  Decoration  Day. 

July  12,  1889. — The  teachers  in  the  Government  schools  will  be  elected  for  the  nine 
calendar  months  of  the  school  year,  but  may  be  suspended  or  removed  before  the  expira¬ 
tion  of  said  terra,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Territorial  board  of  education,  subject  to  the 
approval  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education.  Their  salaries  will  be  paid  at  the  end  of 
each  month  or  every  three  months,  as  they  may  elect. 


EDUCATION  IN  ALASKA, 


759 


ADDITIONAL  RULES  ADOPTED  BY  TERRITOEIAL  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION. 

October  27,  1888. — From  and  after  this  date  corporal  punishment  in  the  public  schools 
of  Alaska  is  entirely  and  wholly  prohibited. 

All  religious  services  are  prohibited  in  all  the  public  schools  of  Alaska  except  Ho  wkau, 
Klawack,  Metlakahtla,  Fort  Wrangell,  Juneau  No.  2,  and  Haines. 

October  31,  1888. — The  regular  meetings  of  the  board  shall  be  held  on  the  second 
Monday  of  January  and  the  first  Monday  of  June  and,  annually. 

June  17,  1889. — The  term  of  the  public  schools  in  the  district  of  Alaska  shall  begin  on 
the  first  school  day  in  the  month  of  September  and  continue  for  the  period  of  nine  cal¬ 
endar  months,  ending  on  the  last  school  day  of  May  in  each  and  every  year,  except  when 
special  provision  is  otherwise  made.  And  each  school  shall  be  kept  open  each  and 
every  day  during  said  period,  except  Saturday,  Sunday,  and  the  national  holidays, 
which  are,  Thanksgiving,  Christmas,  New  Years,  22d  of  February,  Decoration  Day,  and 
4th  of  July.  All  vacations  on  account  of  sickness  or  other  cause  shall  be  made  up  at 
the  end  of  the  term,  provided  the  time  of  such  vacation  does  not  exceed  one  month. 


Table  I, — Attendance. 


September. 

October. 

Nove 

Total. 

Average. 

Total. 

Average. 

Total. 

Howkan . 

69 

46 

62 

20 

87 

Klawack . . . 

27 

15 

31 

21 

22 

Wrangell . 

36 

30 

49 

40 

59 

Sitka  No.  1 . 

49 

46 

51 

47 

48 

Sitka  No.  2 . 

21 

16 

27 

20 

37 

Killisnoo . 

10 

7 

12 

10 

14 

Juneau  No.  1 . 

27 

21 

23 

17 

22 

Juneau  No.  2 . 

26 

17 

21 

19 

47 

Douglass . 

37 

14 

40 

16 

38 

TTfi.i nfiS  . . . 

43 

5 

76 

Kodiak . 

44 

23 

44 

29 

52 

Afognak . 

34 

16 

47 

28 

41 

Carmel . 

17 

13 

20 

14 

20 

Bethel . 

23 

14 

22 

20 

22 

A  n  vi  k  . 

24 

7 

27 

Metlakahtla. . 

118 

50 

162 

124 

166 

O 

bD 

a 

s* 

V 

> 

< 


56 

II 

48 

43 

34 
11 
18 
28 
20 
13 

35 
24 
17 
20 
15 

124 


December. 


o 

Eh 


91 

6 

55 

47 

41 

18 

29 
34 
52 
71 
49 
37 
19 
22 

30 
162 


<o 
u , 
« 
u 
<D 
> 
< 


64 

5 

47 

37 

32 
16 
23 

33 
20 
15 
30 
19 
18 
17 
15 

116 


January. 


*3 

o 


89 

16 

38 

44 

44 

16 

22 

37 

34 

64 

52 

43 

19 

26 

30 

162 


0> 

an 

u 

> 

< 


57 
11 
31 
29 
34 
'  14 
19 
33 
17 
11 
25 
19 
16 
21 
17 
116 


February. 


03 

o 

Eh 


71 

22 

26 

50 

46 

14 

24 

30 

26 

49 

50 
37 
19 
26 
28 

157 


4) 

be 

« 

> 

< 


47 

15 

21 

33 
32 
12 
21 
24 
14 

6 

34 
18 

17 
20 

18 
84 


March. 

April. 

May. 

Total  enroll¬ 
ment  for 
j  year. 

Total  number 
of  children 
under  21 
years  of  age. 

Total  popula¬ 
tion  in  neigh¬ 
borhood  of 
school. 

Total. 

Average. 

Total. 

Average. 

Total. 

Average. 

Howkan . 

53 

31 

36 

25 

48 

33 

105 

134 

275 

Klawack . 

27 

17 

27 

10 

17 

11 

39 

132 

247 

Wrangell . 

23 

17 

16 

12 

24 

13 

90 

100 

317 

Sitka  No.  1 .  . 

47 

35 

47 

33 

49 

41 

67 

503 

1,281 

Sitka  No.  2 . 

45 

30 

40 

25 

26 

9 

51 

503 

1,281 

Killisnoo . 

18 

15 

12 

10 

22 

16 

22 

200 

550 

Juneau  No.  1 . 

23 

20 

24 

22 

26 

23 

36 

245 

1, 000 

Juneau  No.  2 . 

33 

29 

30 

24 

20 

19 

58 

245 

1,000 

Douglass . 

21 

14 

17 

10 

22 

11 

94 

167 

690 

Haines . 

50 

7 

45 

3 

40 

3 

128 

60 

150 

Kodiak  . . 

49 

33 

48 

33 

41 

25 

68 

143 

323 

Afognak . 

36 

17 

37 

17 

34 

17 

55 

146 

321 

riovmp.l . . 

18 

16 

18 

14 

18 

14 

25 

200 

Bethel  . 

25 

17 

15 

13 

35 

100 

A  n  vik . 

26 

16 

25 

17 

38 

38 

95 

Metlakahtla . 

■  1  '  T*' . 

118 

66 

69 

40 

50 

31 

172 

162 

600 

7C0 


EDUCATION  REPORT,  1888-89. 

Table  II. — Number  in  sundry  branches  of  study. 


Primary  charts. 

First  and  Second 

Headers. 

Third  and  Fourth 

Readers. 

Spelling. 

English  Language 

Lessons. 

Geography. 

Howkan . 

30 

38 

33 

34 

42 

9 

ITl  a,  wank . 

11 

15 

4 

27 

1 

Wrangell . 

27 

33 

14 

59 

14 

23 

Sitka  No.  1 . . . 

11 

21 

24 

51 

31 

23 

Sitka  No.  2 . 

27 

19 

1 

26 

26 

14 

Killisnoo . 

10 

14 

4 

4 

1 

5 

Juneau  No.  1 . 

7 

14 

13 

26 

24 

12 

.Tiinea.il  No.  2 . 

29 

19 

5 

33 

5 

Don  glass . . . 

34 

10 

9 

18 

10 

Haines . 

58 

45 

3 

41 

50 

4 

Kodiak . 

21 

23 

21 

68 

68 

7 

Afognak  . 

31 

20 

5 

25 

44 

Carmel . 

21 

11 

2 

19 

20 

Ttethel  . 

6 

11 

11 

17 

A  nvik . 

22 

8 

5 

2 

Metlakahtla . 

64 

102 

19 

162 

162 

162 

Arithmetic. 

Grammar. 

Drawing. 

Physiology. 

Temperance  Hy¬ 

giene. 

United  States  His¬ 

tory. 

Writing. 

Use  of  tools. 

Sewing. 

Other  studies. 

Number  of  classes 

taught  daily. 

28 

9 

91 

15 

15 

4 

91 

37 

17 

17 

1 

17 

1 

17 

59 

59 

33 

59 

31 

38 

14 

51 

11 

18 

40 

9 

51 

22 

26 

46 

37 

17 

10 

22 

3 

22 

1 

2 

22 

26 

3 

15 

9 

4 

26 

23 

45 

45 

21 

11 

1 

3 

24 

6 

30 

76 

76 

4 

46 

76 

12 

68 

7 

68 

21 

68 

37 

20 

25 

45 

25 

48 

55 

19 

. 

20 

17 

17 

. 

17 

3 

4 

30 

30 

. 

30 

6 

12 

162 

130 

162 

162 

162 

Table  III. — Officers  and  teachers ,  with  their  salaries. 


The  following  persons  have  been  paid  from  the  school  fund: 


Name. 

Occupation. 

Place. 

Sheldon  Jackson  . 

General  agent . 

Sitka . 

John  H.  Keatley . 

Board  of  education  ... 

A  P  Swineford  . y . 

. do . 

Lyman  E.  Knapp,  in  place  of  Mr.  Swineford, 
resigned. 

.Tamps  Shftaklev . . 

. do . 

Fort  WLa.ngell . 

William  Duncan . 

Metlakah  tl  a . 

Sheldon  Jackson . . 

Sitka . 

W.  E.  Roscoe  . 

Teacher . 

Kodiak  . 

Janies  A.  Wirth . 

Afognak . 

F.  F.  White . 

Haines . 

Miss  Rhoda  A.  Lee . 

Juneau  No.  1 . 

Miss  Aline  R.  Hill . 

Juneau  No.  2..  . 

Mrs.  Anna  R.  Moon . 

Douglass . 

Miss  May  Ransom .  . 

. do . 

Killisnoo . 

Miss  Marv  Desha  (September  to  January) . 

. do . 

Sitka  No.  I . 

Andrew  Kashevorof  (January). . . . 

Miss  Cassia  Patton  (February  to  June) . 

Miss  Virginia  Pakle . . . 

Sitka  No.  2 . 

Mrs.  Lyda  McAvoy  Thomas . 

. do . 

Fort  Wrangell . 

Mrs.  M.  V.  Currie . . . 

K  la  wank . 

Miss  Clara  A.  Gould . 

Howkan  . . 

Wm.  Duncan  and  assistants . 

Metlakahtla  . 

Compen¬ 

sation. 


$1,200 

200 

200 

200 

200 
200 
200 
*120 
*120 
*120 
*80 
*80 
*80 
*80 
*100 
*80 
*100 
*80 
*100 
*80 
*100 
+2, 500 


*  Per  month* 


f  Per  year. 


EDUCATION  IN  ALASKA 


761 


.  #  » 

Table  IY. — Teachers  appointed  for  1889-90,  with  salaries. 

* 

The  hoard  of  education  at  its  semiannual  meeting,  June  14  to  19,  1889,  appointed, 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education,  the  following  persons 
teachers  for  1889-90: 


Name. 

Place. 

Miss  Clara  A.  Gould  . 

Howkan . 

H.  S.  Barrett,  m.  d . 

Klawack . 

Mrs.  Whrt.  Or.  Thomas  . . . 

Wrangell . 

Miss  Rhoda  A.  Lee...* . 

Juneau  No.  1 . 

Miss  Cassia  Patton . 

Juneau  No.  2 . 

Mrs.  W.  S.  Adams . 

Douglass  No.  1 . 

Charles  Edwards . . . 

Douglass  No.  2 . 

W.  H.  Reid . . 

Haines . . . 

Miss  Virginia  Dox  . 

Hoonah . 

Miss  May  Ransom . 

Killisnoo . 

George  E.  Knapp . 

Sitka  No.  1 . 

Miss  Gertrude  Patton . 

Sitka  No.  2 . : . 

W.  E.  Roscoo . 

Kodiak . 

John  Dull' . 

Afognak . 

John  H.  Carr . 

IT  nga . 

John  A.  Tuck  . . . 

Unalaska . 

Compen¬ 

sation. 


*$100 
*80 
*100 
*100 
*80 
*80 
*80 
*80 
*100 
*80 
*100 
*80 
+1, 000 
tl,  000 
+  1,000 
+1,000 


*  Per  month. 


f  Per  year. 


Table  Y. — Grants  to  contract  schools. 


The  board  of  education  at  its  semiannual  meeting,  June,  1889,  recommended  to  the 
U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education  the  following  contract  boarding  schools: 


Sitka  Training  and  Industrial  School  . $15,000 

Metlakahtla  schools .  3, 000 

Anvik  (Episcopal)  .  . . . . - .  1,000 

Bethel  (Moravian)  . 1,000 

Carmel  (Moravian) . 1,000 


Table  VI. — School  buildings. 

New  school  buildings  recommended  by  board  of  education: 

..  $1,200 
-  1,200 
,.  1, 200 


Kodiak 
Afognak 
Karluk .. 


Table  VII. — Estimate  for  the  year  1890-91. 


Howkan . 

Klawack . 

Wrangell . 

Juneau  No.  1 . 

Juneau  No.  2  . 

Douglass  No.  1  . 

Douglass  No.  2 . 

Haines . 

Hoonah . 

Killisnoo . 

Sitka  No.  1  . . . 

Sitka  No.  2 . 

Yak  u  tat . 

Kodiak  . 

Afognak . 

Karluk . . . . 

Cook’s  Inlet . 

Unga  . 

Belkofsky . 

Nineteen  day  schools 


School. 


Salary  of 
teacher. 

Salary  of 

assistant 

teacher. 

$900 

1,000 

900 

900 

900 

$720 

900 

900 

720 

900 

600 

300 

900 

900 

600 

900 

600 

900 

1,000 

1,000 

1,000 

1, 000 

1,000 

1,000 

17, 500 

2,940 

762  EDUCATION  REPORT,  1888-89. 

Salaries  of  24  teachers . . .  $20, 440 

Fuel  for  19  day  schools  . .  4,  000 

Books  and  stationery .  3, 000 

Desks  and  blackboards,  etc .  1,  000 

Sixteen  policemen  at  $15  per  month .  2, 160 


Support  of  19  day  schools . . .  $30,600 

Salary  of  general  agent .  2, 400 

Salary  of  superintendent  of  Sitka  district .  1,  200 

-  3, 600 

Salaries  of  school  board . . .  1, 000 

Traveling  expenses. . 500 

- 1,500 

School  building  at — 

Juneau . 1,200 

•  Douglass . 1,200 

Yakutat .  1,200 

Cook’s  Inlet .  1,200 

Belkofsky . I,2u0 

- 6, 000 

Contract  schools  at — 

Sitka .  20,000 

Metlakahtla . * .  4,000 

Unalaska .  2,000 

Carmel .  2,  000 

Bethel .  2,000 

Anvik  . . .  2,000 

Nukalukyet .  1,000 

-  33,000 


Total  .  74,700 


SUMMARY. 


Support  of  19  day  schools  with  24  teachers .  . . .  $30,  600 

Support  of  7  industrial  boarding  schools  with  from  40  to  45  teachers  and  employes .  33,000 

Five  new  school  buildings .  6,000 

•General  agent,  superintendent,  and  board  of  education .  5, 100 


Office  of  general  agent. 


74,700 


The  general  agent  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  being  unable  to  secure  transportation 
from  Sitka  to  the  schools  of  western  Alaska  on  the  U.  S.  S.  Thetis ,  that  was  making 
the  trip,  requested  permission  of  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education  to  proceed  to 
San  Francisco  and  take  passage  by  the  steamers  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company. 
Permission  not  being  granted,  I  have  been  unable  to  carry  out  the  instructions  of  the 
honorable  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  to  visit  all  the  schools  at  least  once  a  year. 

Indeed,  for  the  want  of  transportation  I  have  been  unable  to  visit  the  schools  of  south¬ 
western  Alaska  since  I  established  them  in  1886,  and  those  on  Bering  Sea  not  at  all. 
This  has  been  greatly  regretted  both  by  myself  and  the  teachers. 

Also  for  want  of  transportation  I  have  been  unable  to  visit  the  schools  at  Howkan 
and  Klawack,  on  Prince  of  Wales  Island. 

The  schools  at  Sitka,  Juneau,  Wrangell,  Douglass,  Haines,  and  Killisnoo  have  been 
visited  several  times,  and  that  of  Metlakahtla  twice. 


RECOMMENDATIONS. 

I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  recommendations: 

1.  An  inspection  of  the  schools  of  western  Alaska  by  the  general  agent. — In  view  of  the  fact 
that  I  have  been  unable  to  reach  those  schools  for  three  yfears,  and  as  the  time  has  come 
for  establishing  new  schools  in  that  region,  some  of  which  have  already  been  recom¬ 
mended  by  the  Territorial  board  of  education,  and  as  it  is  probable  that  a  Government 
vessel  will  be  sent  nextsummer  to  that  section  to  convey  Government  officials,  therefore 
it  is  recommended  that  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education  be  respectfully  requested 
to  arrange  for  the  transportation  of  the  general  agent. 

2.  Change  in  supervision. — In  order  that  the  general  agent  may  for  the  next  two  or 
three  years  give  the  larger  part  of  his  time  to  developing  the  school  work  in  Western 
Alaska,  I  would  recommend  the  following  change  in  section  4,  division  2,  of  the  rules 
and  regulations  for  the  conduct  of  education  in  Alaska,  to  wit:  First,  that  the  general 
agent  be  relieved  for  the  coming  year  from  the  local  superintendency  of  the  Sitka  dis¬ 
trict,  and  be  given  the  local  superintendency  of  the  Kodiak  and  Unalaska  districts. 
Second,  that  a  district  superintendent  be  appointed  for  the  Sitka  district. 

3.  Permanent  school  fund. — I  would  again  renew  my  recommendations  of  1886-87  and 
1887-88,  which  recommendations  were  also  indorsed  by  the  Territorial  board  of  educa- 


l 


EDUCATION  IN  ALASKA. 


763 


tion,  that  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education  be  respectfully  requested  to  procure  leg¬ 
islation  from  Congress  permanently  appropriating  a  sum  of  money  for  the  education  of 
the  children  of  Alaska  without  distinction  of  race. 

The  present  method  of  supporting  the  schools  of  Alaska  by  an  annual  appropriation 
from  Congress  is  very  unsatisfactory.  As  Congress  one  year  voted  $25,000  and  the  sec¬ 
ond  nothing  and  the  third  $15,000,  it  can  readily  be  seen  that  neither  the  school  board 
nor  the  teachers  can  arrange  for  the  schools  until  after  Congressional  action  has  been 
taken,  nor  until  such  action  is  had  can  they  be  sure  that  there  will  be  any  schools. 
And  not  only  that,  but  some  years  the  action  of  Congress  is  not  known  in  Alaska  until 
three  months  after  the  fiscal  school  year  commences.  A  failure  on  the  part  of  Congress 
any  one  year  to  make  the  necessary  appropriation  would  close  the  schools,  scatter  Gov¬ 
ernment  property,  and  throw  the  teachers  out  of  employment  thousands  of  miles  away 
from  home  and  friends. 

The  disadvantages  of  the  present  system  need  but  to  be  stated  to  be  seen. 

In  the  Western  States  and  Territories  the  general  land  laws  of  the  country  provide 
that  sections  16  and  36  in  each  township  be  set  apart  for  the  use  of  the  schools  in  said 
States  and  Territories.  In  some  of  the  States  this  has  been  a  munificent  endowment. 

But  Alaska  has  no  townships  and  no  surveyed  lands  and  no  law  by  which  they  can 
be  surveyed.  And  when  in  course  of  time  the  general  land  laws  are  extended  over  it, 
the  nature  of  the  country  and  the  peculiar  climate  and  the  requirements  of  the  popula¬ 
tion  will  prevent  to  any  great  extent  the  laying  out  of  the  land  in  sections  of  a  mile 
square.  Thus  while  no  school  fund  is  practicable  for  years  to  come  from  the  lands,  the 
General  Government  derives  a  regular  revenue  from  the  seal  islands  and  other  sources, 
a  portion  of  which  could  be  used  in  the  place  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  school  lands. 

4.  An  obligatory  attendance  law.  — The  operation  of  the  obligatory  attendance  law  which 
was  enacted  by  the  Territorial  board  of  education  and  approved  by  the  honorable  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  in  1887,  has  been  recently  suspended  by  order  of  the  United 
States  Commissioner  of  Education. 

In  view  of  the  importance  of  some  suitable  law  for  securing  the  more  regular  attend¬ 
ance  at  school  of  the  children  of  Alaska,  the  Territorial  board  of  education  at  its  semi¬ 
annual  meeting  June  14-19  took  the  following  action: 

“  Whereas  it  is  the  invariable  experience  of  ali  who  have  been  engaged  or  interested 
for  years  in  the  difficult  task  of  attempting  to  educate  and  civilize  the  natives  and  creoles 
of  Alaska  that  the  greatest  obstacles  to  success  are,  first,  the  want  of  adequate  means  of 
securing  the  regular  and  general  attendance  of  the  children  of  these  people  at  the  various 
Government  schools  and,  second,  the  stolid  indifference,  superstition,  and  fear  of  change 
on  the  part  of  the  greater  number  of  the  parents  of  such  children;  and 

“Whereas  experience  has  also  demonstrated  that  wherever  native  policemen  have 
been  employed  and  paid  heretofore  a  moderate  compensation  for  gathering  these  chil¬ 
dren  into  the  schoolrooms  and  thuscompellingattendance,  not  only  is  the  average  attend¬ 
ance  itself  largely  increased,  but  an  interest  in  the  progress  of  the  pupils  and  the  success 
of  the  schools  themselves  has  been  gradually  and  permanently  created  in  those  native 
and  creole  parents;  and 

“  Whereas,  the  Governmentof  the  United  States  is  annually  appropriating  large  sums 
of  money  for  the  purpose  of  educating  and  civilizing  these  people  and  employing  com¬ 
petent  and  zealous  teachers  for  that  purpose,  who  are  making  great  sacrifices  by  endur¬ 
ing  severe  privations,  general  discomfort,  and  personal  isolation  among  an  alien  and 
barbarous  race  of  people:  Therefore, 

Be  it  resolved  by  the  Territorial  board  of  education ,  That  the  Hon.  Lyman  E.  Knapp, 
the  governor  of  the  District  of  Alaska,  is  hereby  requested  and  urged  to  embody  in  his 
forthcoming  annual  report  to  the  Department  of  the  Interior  the  suggestions  we  have 
made  herein,  with  the  recommendation  that  Congress  take  the  subject  of  compulsory 
education  of  the  natives  and  creoles  of  Alaska  into  consideration,  and,  in  addition  to 
making  the  usual  appropriations  for  the  schools  of  the  District,  add  thereto  such  enact¬ 
ments  as  will  compel  the  regular  attendance  of  the  pupils  at  such  schools  as  are  already 
established  or  may  be  hereafter  provided.” 

I  renew  my  recommendations  of  former  reports  on  this  subject. 

5.  School  police. — With  the  granting  of  an  obligatory  attendance  law,  and  even  with¬ 
out  it,  the  appointment  of  a  native  policeman  in  the  native  villages  where  schools  exist, 
whose  duty  shall  be  to  see  that  the  children  are  in  school,  will  greatly  increase  the  present 
attendance. 

I  therefore  recommend  that  an  allowance  of  ten  or  fifteen  dollars  per  month  be 
allowed  from  the  school  fund  for  the  employment  of  such  men. 

6.  I  recommend  that  the  honorable  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  be  respectfully  re¬ 
quested  to  ask  Congress  for  an  appropriation  of  $75,000  for  education  in  Alaska  for  the 
year  ending  June  30,  1891. 

7.  In  1887-88  the  Territorial  board  of  education  recommended  to  the  United  States 


764 


EDUCATION  REPORT,  1888-89. 


Commissioner  of  Education  that  the  salary  of  the  general  agent  of  education  be  increased 
to  $2,400  annually. 

As  nothing  was  done,  I  respectfully  ask  the  board  to  renew  the  request. 

In  closing  this  report  I  can  not  permit  to  pass  unchallenged  the  statement  made  by 
the  president  of  the  Territorial  board  of  education,  which  appears  on  page  181  of  the 
Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education,  1887-88,  that  my  annual  report  for 
1887-88  was  recalled  by  the  board  of  education  in  Alaska  because  of  “a  number  of  ma¬ 
terial  inaccuracies  in  the  report.”  My  report  for  that  year  was  regularly  indorsed  and 
approved  by  the  board,  ex-Governor  Swineford  not  being  present,  on  September  15,  1888, 
and  forwarded  to  the  Commissioner  of  Education. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  board  on  October  31,  1888,  four  members  being  present,  Mr.  Swine¬ 
ford  delivered  a  tirade  against  the  general  agent  of  education,  claiming  that  some  of  the 
statements  of  the  annual  report  were  false  and  demanding  that  the  vote  of  approval  be 
reconsidered.  This  demand  was  refused  by  the  board.  The  report  had  been  officially 
sent  to  the  Commissioner,  and  could  not  be  recalled,  or  changed,  if  recalled,  except  by 
my  consent. 

However,  to  give  Mr.  Swineford  an  opportunity  of  pointing  out  alleged  falsehoods  I 
consented  to  a  resolution  (and  without  my  consent  the  resolution  could  not  have  been 
passed)  asking  the  Commissioner  of  Education  to  send  the  board  a  certified  copy  of  the 
report,  which  was  done. 

The  report  itself  was  not  recalled,  but  remained  in  Washington,  and  was  printed  as 
usual  in  the  appendix  of  the  annual  report  of  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education  as 
the  regular  official  report  of  schools  in  Alaska. 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  board,  January  23,  1889  (the  general  agent  being 
absent),  although  a  certified  copy  of  my  report  had  been  received  from  Washington,  it 
was  neither  read  nor  considered,  but  Judge  Keatley  was  directed  to  make  out  a  “new 
report  and  transmit  the  same  to  the  Commissioner  of  Education.” 

This  was  not  a  substitute  for  the  report  of  the  general  agent,  as  no  one  could  legally 
make  that  report  but  himself.  It  was  not  even  a  report  on  education  in  Alaska,  because 
Judge  Keatley  had  recently  come  into  the  Territory  and  had  no  personal  knowledge  of 
its  school  affairs  at  that  time.  With  his  usual  good  judgment  he  did  not  attempt  a  re¬ 
port,  but  confined  himself  mainly  to  some  general  statements  with  regard  to  a  few  of 
the  schools  in  southeastern  Alaska,  and  particularly  the  training  school  at  Sitka,  of 
which  he  had  some  personal  knowledge.  His  report  was  never  submitted  to  the  consid¬ 
eration  of  or  approved  by  a  vote  of  the  Territorial  board  of  education.  In  making  his 
reflections  upon  the  report  of  the  general  agent  he  was  evidently  misled  by  the  assertions 
of  Mr.  Swineford,  which  were  never  proven,  and  I  take  this  first  oppoi'tunity  since  the 
publishing  of  the  report  of  1887-88  to  deny  that  the  report  of  the  general  agent  for  that 
year  contains  “a  number  of  material  inaccuracies.” 

Very  truly  yours, 


Sheldon  Jackson, 
General  Agent  of  Education  for  Alaska. 


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